PROGRAMS DESIGNED WITH YOU IN MIND

At Master's Academy we are interested not only in self-defense skills, but also in the complete personal development of each student. Individual attention is a feature of each and every class, allowing students to progress quickly and easily toward their personal goals. Our instructors take their responsibilities as role models for younger students seriously, teaching them the importance of strong character, leadership and good values.

TAE KWON DO HAS MANY BENEFITS

Practiced for centuries in Korea, Taekwondo has been used for defense, meditation and therapy. Taekwondo or "The Way of the foot and fist," has improved the physical conditions and well-being of many individuals. Taekwondo offers relaxation techniques combined with healing aerobic movements. Taekwondo reduces stress, improves balance and coordination, increases flexibility, motion and strength, enhances body awareness, burns calories and assists mental well-being.

BALANCE

Humans stand on a narrow foundation and constant muscular compensation is necessary to keep jointed segments under control. Looking at the basic structure of Taekwondo, we can understand why this exercise can improve the narrow and unstable human frame. Taekwondo movements strive to keep weight evenly dispersed through a stance of the legs, while keeping the back straight.

RELAX YOUR BACK

Taekwondo positions rely on the individual's back remaining straight, therefore, weak, worn and aching muscles are forced to gain strength. For individuals suffering from "secretary spread" or other types of job-related back pain, Taekwondo increases flexibility and reduces back pain.

CENTURIES IN THE MAKING

Taekwondo was not developed overnight. It has been perfected over centuries and allows instructors to provide their students with the benefits of Taekwondo. Taekwondo has been documented to:

According to Grand Master Tom Jang:

Tae Kwon Do is a systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial art that teaches more than physical fighting skills. Taekwondo is a discipline that teaches ways to enhance the spirit and one's life. Taekwondo does this by training your body and your mind. Today, Taekwondo has become a global sport and is included in the olympic games while garnaring an international reputation for beign a dynamic, healthy and fun way to learn self defense.

Let's take a closer look at the meaning of the word Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is often writen as one word (Taekwondo) as well as three words. It is composed of three parts as shown in the English spelling, though it is one word in Korean. Tae means "foot," or "to step on"; Kwon means "fist" or "fight"; and Do means the "way" or "discipline." If we put these three parts together, we can see two important concepts behind "Tae Kwon Do."

First, Tae Kwon Do is the right way of using Tae and Kwon, "fists and feet," or all the parts of the body that are represented by fists and feet.

Second, it is a way to control or calm down fights and keep the peace. This concept comes from the meaning of tae kwon: "to put fists under control" or "to step on fists". Thus Tae kwon do means, "the right way of using all parts of the body to stop fights and help to build a better and more peaceful world."

Tae Kwon Do has been developing with the 5000-year long history of Korea that aimed at producing leaders of the country. Tae Kwon Do today is similar to the martial arts in other Oriental countries and shares some features with them. During the course of its evolution, Tae Kwon Do has benifited from incorperating the best of many different styles of martial arts that existed in the countries surrounding Korea, like Japan and China.

Tae Kwon Do is very different from many such Oriental martial arts. First, physically it is very dynamic with active movements that include a myriad of foot skills. Second, the principle physical movements are in simpatico with that of mind and life as a whole. Third, it possesses dynamic poses from another perspective.

Tae Kwon Do can be characterized by unity: the unity of body, mind and life, and the unity of the pose [poomsae]. When you do Tae Kwon Do, you should make your mind peaceful and synchronize your mind with your movements, and extend this harmony to your life and society.